Conditions
by MsEdelweiss
Summary: After the defeat of the Telmarines, the Pevensie siblings are given the chance to stay in Narnia. However, to do this they must complete Aslan's three conditions.
1. Chapter 1

Peter and Susan stood in the courtyard, no words being exchanged between them. They both knew full well what was coming to them. They had heard the tales, the myths and rumours, that there was an age of change. The woodlands folk whispered between them that they had read the signs in the stars, one day the Pevensie siblings would be too old to return to Narnia. The professor, after their first visit to Narnia, had warned them of this, that one day they would not be able to return again. None of the four had taken too much interest at the time, doubting whether they would go back. However, a feeling in Susan's stomach told her she would not return.

The soft pad of Aslan's large paws on the solid stone grew closer and closer behind them, and slowly they turned to meet the might lions stare. He said, lookingdirectly at them. Neither of them made a sound.

Silently, both siblings moved to either side of the grand lion, his rough but thick mane tickling their sides. "I do believe you are expecting to leave Narnia," Aslan simply said, almost mockingly. He looked up at Peter, indicating him to walk. Only a fool would ignore a lion, no matter how calm and wise they were.

"We both know that our time has come in Narnia, and were sure it is the best for us..." he muttered nervously, before being abruptly stopped by Aslan.

"Stop," he said abruptly, only looking forwards instead of at either Peter or Susan. He looked over across the courtyard to see Caspian jogging towards them. "However," he carried on, whispering, "Things must change, for now at least. I can not tell you more now, but all shall be revealed very soon,". Aslan then stopped, standing in silence. He cocked his head towards the pathway leading to the area where the public assembly would take place. Caspian stood underneath an archway, averting his eyes from them.

"What?" Susan said, in confusion and disbelief as Aslan walked away. She stared at him as he walked away.

"We'll have it wait and see," Peter said. He was trying to put on a strong face, but he to felt completely confused inside. He put a hand on his sister's back and began to lead her to where Caspian stood. As they passed him, Caspian joined them.

"What was all that about?" asked Caspian, looking at Peter.

"We should find out now," Peter said, as they moved towards the croud that had gathered around the stage. Caspian looked at them both, raising an eyebrow, then shrugged and started to move through the crowd, who parted to make room for Caspian, Peter and Susan to walk through towards the stage.

Susan couldn't concentrate as Caspian spoke, instead staring into the distance, past the tree and over the cliff. She looked down, the height almost making her feel lightheaded. Millions of quaint little cottages, huts and slightly larger and grander homes were spread across the land until they reached the coast, where they simply looked the size of the head of a pin.

Susan briefly glanced at Peter and could tell he wasn't truly listening either. Peter watched Caspian and make the right gestures and facial expressions at the right times, but he wasn't really taking anything in. He wanted to but he he could stop pondering about what was to come.

With a massive groan, the tree at the center of the stage started to shudder. Slowly, it creaked and twisted around until a portal had formed in the middle. All eyes turned towards it, some wide with fear and some wide with fascination. Most, however, were wide with both. As the trunk fully opened up, a selection of gasps were heard from the crowd of Telmarines and Narnians alike. People muttered words of disbelief.

Aslan took over from Caspian. "This portal," he said, turning towards the tree, "shall transport you back to your own world. The one your ancestors left many years ago from now,"

A Telmarine soldier stepped forwards. He had the classic tanned skin and inky black hair, falling into his eyes. A large raw burn stood out underneath his eye and his arm was wrapped in a bloody bandage. "And what will happen to us then? It has been many thousands of years since we left," he said indignantly.

Aslan looked at him. He didn't look at him with anger, nor with disgust, but only with a fond fatherly expression. "You shall be given to opportunity to start a whole new life-".

Before he could continue, Queen Prunaprismia stepped forwards, holding her infant son Inigo. Young Inigo. He would never know of his father. Never know who his father had been, what his father had done. In some ways, Caspian hoped this would be a good thing. No child should know of the actions the Miraz had commited. Though, Caspian wouldn't want a child to grow up without a father as he had done. That child was now as Caspian had been from such a young age. The child of a murdered father. "I shall go," she said softly.

Behind her, Glozelle and her father Lord Scythly stepped forwards. "As shall we."

The group climbed the steps towards the stage and passed the group, stopping directly in front of Aslan. As Queen Prunaprismia passed Caspian, she gently skimmed her hand over his arm and looked up at her nephew with a gentle thankful look. Caspian looked directly at her, both sets of deep brown eyes meeting.

While Miraz had always remained a harsh and indifferent man, his wife had hidden a caring side towards Caspian. She would never show this to her husband of course, but Caspian was aware that she felt sympathetic in some ways to him. She had never wanted this to happen when she married Miraz.

Aslan looked up at them brightly. "Since you are the first to accept my offer, this new world will serve you well," he said, turning his head towards the tree. The group walked towards the tree, through the hole and disappeared without a trace.

All went silent for only a few moments. The Telmarines looked at each-other apprehensively. "Murder!" a soldier cried. He bore an ugly infected battle wound across his face which was sure to leave an equally ugly scar, ruining his once handsome exotic features.

Staying perfectly calm, Aslan didn't fight back. That was not Aslan. He did not fight by setting fear into anyone, but by his words. "My intentions are not to kill, we have seen enough of that in these recent times. Enough blood has been shed, and no sorrow should be experienced. It is up to you to decide how genuine my offer is , and up to the rest of the people to decide the same for themselves,".

The man stopped for a second, and then stepped back. He once again disappeared into the crowd. His face just another one of millions. He wasn't one of the ones that left, but many did.

As the last groups of Telmarines passed through the arch in the tree trunk, Caspian came over to stand by the siblings as his job was over. Edmund nudged Peter with his elbow. "What's going on?" he practically mouthed, so quiet that Susan and Lucy wouldn't hear. Edmund wasn't oblivious, he knew there had been talk of Peter and Susan becoming to old for Narnia.

"Wait. Aslan knows what he is doing,"

And so he did. "There is a reason I've kept the four Kings and Queens of Old here," Aslan said, "Many of you know, our towns have been cursed by a incredibly destructive fire, nothing has survived this fire so far and you can barely imagine what destruction will be left behind if we let this continue. That is why, we require the four Kings and Queens of old, with King Caspian X at their side, to go on this quest,". He paused and looked at the five royals.

All five of them stared at him, determined. None of them wanted the kingdom to go down in the deadly flames. It was obvious just looking at them.

"There is a solution to this," he said. "Far away, miles and miles away, is the Magedread tree. This tree cradles a single crystal in it's roots. Once you have this crystal, it will give us in Narnia the power to stop this deadly curse,"

There was silence in the crowd. No one dared look anywhere but directly at the might lion.

Aslan continued, "I'm sure some of you will remember Tyne, the son of a noble man long gone. He went on this same quest many years ago, and you will also know that he was never seen again. This is why only the bravest may go, for there is the threat of never returning."

Barely a thousandth of a second after he had finished explaining the quest to those who chose to remain in Narnia, Peter stepped forwards.

"We shall do it," he said, without even the slightest hesitation.

"Wait, son of Adam, for you have not yet heard my three conditions," He looked at Peter, who nodded, and continued.

"The first may be obvious, but is not by any means straight forwards. The second will be harder. You must find out what happened to Tyne, to achieve closure for his descendant and avenge him. For you, the third may be the most difficult one of all. On acceptance of my first two conditions, you must agree to never return to your own world for it will be dangerous for you in ways you cannot understand,"

Peter turned around to look at his three younger siblings. In turn, each of them nodded their approval at him. The land they once ruled over needed protecting. The eldest sibling turned slowly back around to Aslan and gulped. Trying not to show any emotion, showing the rest of the kingdom that he was sure of himself, he stared straight at Aslan. "We will,"

"Thank you, son of Adam," Aslan said sincerely to Peter before turning back to the crowd and dismissing them. Once the kingdom started filing out of the courtyard, Aslan turned to the group one final time. "I'm sure I will be seeing you all soon, but in the mean time good luck. May I have a word, young one?" He addressed his question to Lucy, using his expression only reserved for her. She obliged with a small smile, burying one hand in his mane as he led her away into the nearby woods.

"We should make a plan," Edmund said, folding his arms over his chest and looking at the others. Peter nodded and started to walk away towards the castle entrance. Edmund followed.

"Are you coming?" Peter turned to Susan and Caspian.

Caspian opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say anything Susan did. "No," she said "I think I will turn in for the night," she said with a small smile as she turned away.

"As shall I," Caspian said "It has been a long day,".

The two brothers nodded, and continued to walk to the more public end of the castle, where they knew they would find many of the knights they would require for their quest. Meanwhile, Susan and Caspian both retreated to the other end, specially reserved for the castle's residents.

"I'm sorry," Caspian said to Susan, as he trailed several yards behind her.

Susan stopped immediately. "What for?" she said, turning around with a confused look on her face.

Caspian quickened his pace to catch up with Susan, and they both slowly walked on. He sighed deeply. "I- I don't know." he looked down at the ground. "It's just, your family. You may never see them again.".

Susan stopped in her steps. "Caspian," she said. "Do not pity me." "I have all that I need here. My kingdom needs me. If fate says I will not see my parents at this point in time, then this is what is right, ". She stood on her toes and put a hand on his shoulder. "Anyway, all that I need is right here in Narnia,". Lightly, she kissed him on the lips before walking away, all too suddenly.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Disclaimer- I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia, nor do I own any of the characters or recognizable features. _**

"Su?". A small, tentative whisper came though the darkness. Lucy stepped into the room, the door closing with a creak behind her. She held her candle up to her face as it cast a light golden glow over her features. "Susan?" she repeated.

Lucy put her candle on the bedside table and knelt on the bed next to her sister, shaking her shoulder.

Susan began to stir, and rolled onto her back. She looked up to see her younger sister's concerned face. Susan blinked and sat up, leaning on her elbow. "What's wrong, Lu?".

Lucy sat next to Susan and crossed her legs. "Susan," she said, looking down at her hands. "Aslan told me I am to stay here, he said-" she stopped suddenly. Her eyes glazed over with water.

"Lucy, what did he say?".

A lump formed in Lucy's throat. "He told me I am too young to go," she cried out, "he doesn't think I can cope!"

Susan sat up further, pulling a pillow behind her back onto the headboard. "Lucy," Susan looked at her sister with a fond smile. "Lucy, he knows what he is doing. Aslan loves you Lucy. He doesn't want you get hurt, he doesn't want you to be in danger,".

Susan opened her arms to Lucy, who proceeded to crawl into them and rest her hand on Susan's shoulder. "Well maybe I'll miss you all," Lucy mumbled into her sister's skin.

"And you know we'll miss you too, but we'll be back before you know it,". Susan looked down at her sister again. "Anyway," she said playfully "We need someone to look after the rest of the kingdom while we are on our quest, with Reepicheep of course,".

"I suppose," Lucy said, a smile forming on her lips. "I'll let you to sleep, you'll be needing it," she said, giving a Susan a bone crushing hug before leaving the room. She took her candle again, and stood in the doorway. "Love you Su,"

"Love you too, Lu,".

And with that Lucy left Susan alone in her room. It was true. Susan did need her sleep. Tomorrow, the group would set off on their quest. She knew that she didn't know when she would next find the time to sleep. She knew that she should sleep well tonight. But she couldn't. Susan wished that they had been given time to plan their quest properly, but they hadn't. Edmund had come bursting into her room as she prepared for sleep, announcing that they would start their quest at dawn.

After what seemed like hours of tossing and turning, but was only really half an hour, Susan rose from her bed and swung her legs over the side. She shivered as her bare feet hit the cold stone of the floor, so pulled a pair of stiff but warm boots over her feet and a fur trimmed cloak over her shoulders. She fumbled through the dark as she found a candle in a holder on the dresser, and carried it out of the room, making sure to leave her bedroom door ajar as she left.

She walked speedily out to the hallway, hugging her cloak around her with one hand and holding her candle with the other. Susan hurried towards the torch with fire crackling high on the wall and stood on the tips of her toes to touch the wick of the candle to the dancing flames. The fire spread onto the candle and made the warmth drift down towards her hands.

Guided by the soft glow of the candle light, Susan wandered into the drawing room, intending to sit and read until tiredness took her over. However, it seemed someone else had the same idea. As she opened the door, careful not to make too much noise and wake those who slept near by, the loud noise of a wooden box falling to the floor echoed across the room.

Caspian, who was sitting on a bench, jumped to hit feet and turned towards the door, being in instant relief when he saw it was Susan who had given him such a shock. Susan smiled at him as she walked over to join him on the bench, but he avoided eye contact as he hastily picked up his dropped box and placed it on the bench next to him, guarding the box with a hand on top of it.

"Will sleep not come to you, either?" Caspian asked.

"Quite unfortunately not," she said, looking sympathetically at Caspian. "What is that" Susan said, quickly changing the subject as she twisted around him to look at the box protected underneath his left hand.

"Ah, your Majesty, that is nothing for you to worry yourself about," he said, pulling it closer to his body.

Susan raised once corner of her lips, and gave him a skeptical look. Caspian mimicked her, but couldn't help a tiny laugh slipping out. Susan shook her head, in exasperation but also in humour of the new King.

"You have no idea, how I worry about such little things," Susan said, looking down at her hands in her lap.

"Like what?" Caspian asked, hoping he wasn't prying.

"I worry for my family the most,". She looked up at Caspian. "Even my older brother, but especially Lucy,". She glanced over at Caspian, but he didn't say a word. He waited for her to continue. "Lucy is staying here, at the castle." She paused yet again, putting a hand in her hair and another grasping the buckle on her cloak and tracing the pattern with her index finger. "It's not that I don't trust her, but I don't think she quite trusts herself with the castle,".

Caspian reached over and tucked a stray strand of hair behind Susan's ear, and then lowered him hand to rest on her forearm. "I promise you, she will be fine. I'm sure she will even start to enjoy being in charge for once," he teased.

When Caspian placed his hand on her arm, she did not move or fight it. She subconsciously moved closer to him, until she could feel his hot breath travelling down the collar of her cloak.

Caspian's breath hitched as he felt her move closer to him.

"I feel as if I owe you something,".

Susan turned to him, confusion across her face.

However, before she could even utter a word, Caspian had placed a hand on the back of her head and pulled her further towards him, pressing his lips to hers. For a couple of seconds, there was tension and awkwardness between them, but for a brief moment before Caspian pulled away they started to relax against one another. Caspian leaned back only a centimeter for a moment, but soon drifted backwards towards Susan.

But before their lips could touch once more, the door slammed open. Caspian jumped to hit feet at an incredible speed, trying to hide the guilty look on his face from Susan's eldest brother. Peter strolled into the room, a quill in his hand, but he stopped in his tracks as he saw Caspian standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, and Susan sitting, pretending to examine a broken fingernail.

There was no hiding from Peter, he was not oblivious and nor was he ignorant. But much to Caspian's relief, Peter did not blow up, though from the expression on his face it was quite obvious that he knew what had just occurred. A slight blush crept over his cheeks.

Susan stood, wrapped her cloak around her and hastily left. "We really must get our sleep," she looked at the two men. "It shall be an early start tomorrow,". She hurried down the corridor towards her chambers.

"We all should be," Peter agreed. "I must just make one last adjustment to our plans before I retire," he said as he made his way over to a chest, pulled out a scroll of fresh white paper and unrolled it before beginning to write on it in a long sloping scrawl.

"I believe I shall also retire," Caspian said as he grabbed his box, left the room and closed the wall behind him. He hurried along the corridors in the dark, instantly regretting not bringing a source of light with him as he stubbed his toe against a pedestal.

Once in his chambers, he opened the trunk at the foot of his bed and buried the box right at the bottom, making sure he completely hid it form view in the piles of fabric before clambering into bed. It seemed that as soon as his head hit the pillow, he drifted into the darkness of sleep. However, it only seemed like seconds until he was woken again by a rough shaking of his shoulders.

"Caspian!" Lucy said, as she wandered over to the window and pulled back the heavy drapes. It wasn't fully light outside yet, but the birds were starting to sing and the sun could just be seen peeping above the mountains in the distance. Still, Caspian resisted waking up. He pulled his bed sheets over his head, and mumbled something unintelligible from underneath the sheets. With surprising strength, Lucy pulled them back of him again to the bottom of the bed. She pulled the wardrobe doors open, and out she pulled his hard wearing clothes and a pair of well work leather riding boots. She threw them across the room at him, the boots narrowly missing his head. "Come on," she said, giving him one last shake of the arm, and walked out. "Everyone else is ready," She called from outside of the door. "Including your horse!".

Reluctantly, Caspian sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he took off his night clothes and replaced them with the ones meant for him to travel in. He stood, and as soon as he attached the sheath holding his sword onto his left side he felt ready to face the world and anything it could throw at him.

He ran down multiple hallways as quickly as he could, not wanting to delay the party anymore. Once he got the the main courtyard next to the main castle gates, everyone had already congregated.

A small and humble carriage, wooden and worn with a simple cloth covering, stood in the middle. Everyone bustled around it, packing it with what they would need for their journey. Extra food, medical supplies, extra weapons. They didn't know how long they would be away, but they did not want to overload the horses pulling the cart. Caspian soon spotted Peter, Susan and Edmund mounted upon their horses, seemingly waiting for him. He noticed his horse, Destrier, tied to a post near a quiet corner. He hastily mounted his horse, and trotted over to wear the rest of the royals stood.

"Woken from your slumber, have you?" Edmund smirked as Caspian approached them.

Before Caspian could reply, Lucy came running down towards them wielding her bottle of cordial out in front of her. She hurried over to them, and handed the bottle to Susan. "You almost forgot this," she panted as Susan attached the miniature bottle to the belt.

"Open the drawbridge!" cried on of the knights, Marcus, as he finished attaching the second of the dark pair of horses to carriage, and jumped up onto the front of the carriage with the other knight, Hansel. As if by magic, the drawbridge was lowered and a complete path was made outside of the castle and into the unknown beyond.

Lucy clambered up onto an assortment of crates, and Reepicheep appeared out of no where next to her. "Good luck!" she shouted, almost bouncing on the tips of her toes as she waved. Reepicheep stood next to her at her feet, barely visible but brandishing his sword enthusiastically.

The carriage bumped along the rough path heading towards the woods, and the four royals rode behind it. "Where are we to travel to first?" Susan turned in her saddle, to face Peter.

"Well..." Peter said, as he pulled a map which unfolded to be almost as large as his torso from his saddle bag.


	3. Chapter 3

By the time they had stopped for the night, they felt dead on their feet. Although they had their horses, Peter, Edmund, Susan and Caspian had been forced to dismount their horses when the ground became too slippery with mud and rain water for them to ride over. They were not only wet from the lake they had passed through, but also from the freak sudden downpour. It had sprung on them unexpectedly as the sky turned from a pleasant blue to a dreary grey.

The team of Narnian and Telmarine knights that had accompanied them on the quest were eager to construct the temporary shelter for the night, as a storm seemed to be becoming more and more internment. Three tents were to be constructed, one for the three kings, one for the queen and one for the knights. They were to leave their wagon outside, far from where the trees would be able to fall and destroy it along with their supplies.

Peter and Caspian led their horses towards a part of the large clearing near the lake where Susan and Edmund's horses already grazed. They let them go, and the two tall horses wandered in their own directions. They were not at all phased by the hammering rain. Each picked up the branches laying on the grass around them, mostly over two thirds of their own heights. They stuck them into the ground, and ravelled rope around them to form make shift fencing for the horses.

"I'm not going to say I'm happy about this," Peter said, making Caspian jump in surprise and drop his length of rope to the floor. "If you lay a hand on her, you will have myself and Edmund to answer to,"

"What?" Caspian responded, confused. The piece of rope hung limply in his hand.

"You and Susan. I've seen you in the hallways, I'm not blind," Peter said, as he also stopped in his tracks. "We have agreed that we are willing to let this go now, I need to pick my battles,".

Caspian looked up. "Thank you," he said sincerely. He got back to work, rapidly tying the rope in knots around the branches protruding from the ground. Peter did the same.

As they tied the last knot, Peter turned to him again. "I'm sure you don't need much imagination to known of your fate if you do anything to my sister," he warned.

Peter was right. Caspian didn't want to doubt him on this either. He knew the lengths he would go to for the protection of his siblings. "I can assure you, I know not to overstep the boundaries,"

"I know you won't. But I have always had a responsibility to look after my younger siblings and sometimes things like that can be hard to let go, even when they are no longer needed." Peter put his head down, and avoided eye contact with Caspian.

Caspian looked away, and carried on linking the rope and sticks.

Throughout the course of the night, the weather deteriorated. The wind howled, and wrapped around the tents, completely engulfing them in the overpowering whirlwind of energy. Although, Caspian seemed to be the only one bothered by this. Peter and Edmund both lay flat on their backs. Long gangly limbs spread out across the tent, invading on eachothers' space. Their snores contented with the volume of the wind outside, undoubtedly upon the same level as it.

Caspian, normally a heavy sleeper, was very distributed. He couldn't blame it on the noise outside though. He could only actually blame this insomnia on his brain's over activity. He lay on his small set up of a bed on the floor watching but not concentrating on the rain drops rapidly racing down the sides of the tent.

Out of no where, a loud crash jolted him from his trance. A crackling noise followed, and without any thought he lept from his bed and threw the cloak from the floor over his shoulders. Surprisingly, Peter and Edmund had also woken. Peter stood at the door of the tent struggling with the ties while Edmund looked up at them both, watery eyed and messy haired. Caspian put his boots on over his sleeping breaches, and pulled his hood up over his slightly disheveled hair.

As Peter and Caspian stepped out side of the tent, a sudden waft of intense heat hit them in the face. Flames were rising high out of a fallen tree trunk, creating a wall of fire blocking off the way that had entered the clearing. The only way out of the temporary camp-site was onwards in their quest.

"This shouldn't be possible!" Edmund cried out as he emerged from the tent behind them and pulled his cloak around him tighter to protect his torso from the rain. The fire was not hindered from the rain. Nothing was stopping it, the blazing inferno only seemed to get stronger, bigger and hotter.

The rest of the group had already evacuated their tents and sprung into action. Nobody was trying to extinguish the fire, coming the the conclusion that it was worthless. Instead people were capturing the horses and tying them into the harnesses of the carriage, or stuffing as many supplies into the back as they could. The horses panicked at the sight of the flames and started backing into eachother with their eyes rolling back into their heads.

Susan had already mounted her horse bareback only using a length of rope around the horses neck, nobody having the time to tack their horses up. Caspian rushed into the crowd of horses despite the danger of flailing hooves. He looped a length of rope around Destrier's neck to keep him still while he jumped up and hooked his right leg around his horse, pulling himself upwards into a sitting position.

Nobody looked back as they escaped the ruins of the campsite, except for Edmund. What he saw horrified him even more than the fire did. Standing amongst the flames, invincible to their fiery grasp, was a tall male figure. He was thin, skeletal even, with sharp and pointed features like those of a snake. He started straight back at Edmund with piercing icy grey, close to white, eyes. The very ghostly appearance of him sent shivers down the spine. He turned back towards his siblings, but neither of them had noticed this apparition in the fire. Once he looked back, this man was no more than a shadow, fading into the fire. He kicked his horse on, urging him to catch up with the other horses galloping ahead.

It took hours for the sight of smoke do disappear from the sky, now turning pink with the rising sun. They didn't speak between themselves as they travelled along the dirt road they had found. According to their map, it leaded to the general direction in which they were headed. The only sound was the wheels on the carts clattering against the rocky terrain.

By the time that the group had reached a spot far enough away from their ruined camp-site to feel safe, Susan couldn't stop her eyes from drooping until her horse stumbled slightly or jolted her slightly. She pulled her horse back from a slow trot to an even slower walk. She took one hand off the rope around her horse's neck and held it to her face, rubbing her eyes exasperatingly.

She was about to catch up with the rest of the ride until she saw another horse slow to her pace next to her. As she looked up to see the horse's rider, she saw Edmund looking at her knowingly, waiting for her to speak.

"How could this happen?" she vented frustratedly. "One night into our quest, and this happens". Susan shook her head in despair.

"At least things possibly couldn't get any worse," Edmund lied, badly. He could feel it, deep in his heart. The ghostly figure standing in the flames, the image that was stuck in the back of his mind, wasn't finished yet. He wasn't under the impression that this quest was going to be easy by any means. Edmund knew the worst was yet to come, but he didn't even consider telling any of the group. Maybe this was a foolish idea, but he didn't want to further dampen anybodies spirits and didn't dare vanish the little fighting spirit they had left.

"How do you know?" Susan retorted.

"Ijust do," Edmund said childishly. He hoped that his facial expression looked more like a grin that a grimace.

Susan only responded with a disgruntled snort, looking back at him sceptically as she sped up to join Peter and Caspian. Edmund hastily moved his horse to join them, not feeling secure following the events that had happened only hours before.

It wasn't long then until the smell of smoke finally left their noses, whether it was in their heads or really there nobody knew.

Peter was off his horse before anybody could even halt their own. "We need to replenish the supplies we lost," he announced. Normally Edmund would have argued his position of authority, but at the moment in time the group were all to tired to even be bothered about this.

Peter pulled his horse to a near by oak tree, tethering him loosely to it. He shielded his eyes from the sun with a hand to his forehead and scouted around the location for possibly food sources. On seeing a river, Peter swiftly snatched a spear from a carriage and stomped off in the direction of it. Susan and Edmund exchanged a knowing look, before both slowly dismounting their horses.

"I don't think we should stay in one place for too long, not yet anyway," she said, without looking back at the two men following her towards Peter's horse with their own horses. Caspian and Edmund both shared this opinion. Stopping just now would not be the wisest of decisions.

Susan pulled her bow of her shoulder and pulled an arrow out, notching it into her bow in advance. She made her way into a section of woodland. Not so dense that it gave her a sense of being followed, but it still made her jump whenever a twig snapped under her boot, or a small animal scurried along the branches that intertwined over her head.

Susan put her bow into position and pulled the string tight against her cheek. As she peered through the tangle of tree trunks, she saw a unusually large squirrel scrabbling at the dirt. It looked up at her, with a dumb unknowing look in its eyes. This wasn't a talking animal, like those who lived by their side in Narnia. It was an animal changed by the tough and brutal telmarine reign.

The animal stopped, peering at something that had startled it in the distance. Susan aimed her arrow, held her breath and squeezed her eyes shut, releasing her grasp on the string of her bow. Only once she heard the small thump of the arrow hitting the creature did she hurry over towards it and gingerly pick it up. She tied the squirrel to the belt around her waist and carried on.

A couple of hundred yards away, Peter stood in the stream with his boots off and his trousers rolled up to his knees. The stream flowed past his mid calves as he plunged his spear into the water whenever he saw a fish, splashing particles of water up onto his white shirt as he did so. Fish were sparse in this particular area, but the three he had found were large enough to spread around their small group that evening.

Peter bundled his fish up in a sack and carried them towards the carriage that the supplies were being kept in, and stuffed them into a dark corner away from the sunlight that would keep it from going rancid. In the same isolated area of the carriage, he found a collection of small woodland creatures collected by Susan.

He walked back towards his horses, to see Susan starting to untie her horse from the tree.

"We should get going," she muttered, without even looking up to see who she was talking to.

Peter made a noise of approval, not saying anything but wordlessly moving to the side of her horse to help her mount before moving towards his own horse and vaulting on, gathering up his reins for a tighter contact as he turned the horse around to make his way back to the track. As he did so, Edmund and Caspian emerged from yet another area of woodland clutching small sized sacks full of berries and roots.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I am very sorry for the long wait for this chapter. School has been very busy for me this year with all of my exams! Hopefully chapters will be more frequent now. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, added this to their favourites and followed so far!**

A long figure staggered , as if severely stunted, out of the darkness that the group were facing. Peter, who had naturally taken leadership of the group, roughly yanked his horse to an abrupt halt held his palm up, warning the others to stop as well. One by one the rest of the group came to a slow stop, the horses' hooves taking a few plodding steps before coming to a halt. No one took their eyes off the mysterious figure in the distance.

The mist engulfed the distant figure, though not enough to conceal their skeletal figure, with a hunch in their back. There was an inhuman air about this stranger, and all the group could do was wait for them to emerge into their clear line of view. No one dared move forwards, in fear of this unknown aspect.

Peter leaned forwards on his horse to peer further into the mist and fog, but many of the others kept their distance.

As the figure emerged, their features became much more distinguishable. The figure, now obviously a female frame with widened hips but a narrow waist. She was hidden under a dress, obviously constructed out of fine silks with rich burgundies and golds. The hem was caked in slick mud, and the dress bore suspicious dark stains which were defiantly not mud. She stumbled as she walked, landing on her outstretched arms and knees before struggling to get back on her unshod feet.

Before any member of the group could dismount their horse to come to her aid, she lunged forwards at Edmund's horse, looking up at the young King with large brown eyes, focused intensely on his expressionless face. His horse spooked at the sudden movements, backing up towards the others but the woman still desperately grabbing at the horse and Edmund's legs.

The whites of her eyes stood out against the general grime of her face, which was obviously youthful underneath the dirt which had accumulated there. She had dainty features, with a heart shaped face. Her hair was seemingly dark, as were her eyes. Her health had been sacrificed in whatever her objective was, as her lips were chapped and bleeding and her skin was riddled with cuts, varying from small scratches to wounds displaying sign of infection.

Peter dismounted his horse, throwing the reins to Caspian who rode next to him. Walking around to where the woman had sunk to her knees, he grabbed her upper arm and pulled her up towards him. The woman fell forwards into his chest. Peter steadied her, with an arm around her shoulder.

"Who are you?" He said, his voice almost being drowned out over the sound of the howling wind.

All the unknown woman could do was scream. She clung to Peter's over coat, her mouth formed an oval shape as she wailed in despair.

Susan had also dismounted her own horse, and joined Peter. Silently, hers and her brother's eyes met before she gently unclasped her cloak, wrapping it around the woman's shoulders and leading her to the back of the halted carriage.

"I don't know of your past," she said, once out of ear shot of the rest of the group "I am not one to pry, but I want you to know that you are the safe. You must come in here, at least for tonight,". Susan said as she pulled down the door of the carriage and made a make shift step out of a wooden crate.

The woman, who's wails had subdued to loud and gulping sobs. Susan pulled a bundle of sacks used for the storage of food into the middle of the carriage, arranging them in a hopefully comfortable way. She then retrieved another crate, this time with preserves, berries and fruits from the trees that had previously been created.

"You must eat, and rest," She said, guiding the other woman of a similar age onto the temporary bed.

Before Susan could turn to go back to the rest of the group, the woman grabbed her slender wrist in her own calloused hands. "Thank you," she said, sincere in her words. "Thank you, thank you so much,".

Susan closed the carriage door. "You have no need to thank me, it is only my duty to help you," She said, as the smiled at the woman and left to go back to her siblings and Caspian.

There was silence in the group as Peter assisted Susan in remounting her horse, and mounted his own.

He and Edmund rode ahead of the group, leaving Susan and Caspian alone. When Peter believed they were a fair distance apart, he started to bellow at Edmund.

"What is wrong with you?" he shouted, pulling a face at Edmund as if he was lower than the mud they rode over. Edmund didn't respond, instead just staring down at his hands holding the reins. Peter continued to bellow at his younger brother, but it just went in one ear and out of the other.

There was silence between Susan and Caspian, neither quite knowing what to make of the situation. It had all been so sudden, neither quite understood what had happened in the last 5 minutes.

"You're cold," Caspian stated, as he looked at Susan. Her hair which had previously covered by the hood of her cloak was saturated by the rain, and her exposed décolletée was subject to the harsh weather, making her shiver.

"I'm not," Susan lied, looking straight ahead at the building of tension between her brothers.

"Don't lie," he said, grinning as he unclasped his own cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders, clasping it as he moved his horse so his legs brushed hers.

* * *

…_.I hope you are all safe, and on track to find the tree,_

_With the greatest of love, L. _

Lucy placed her quill back in the drawer, and replaced the cap on her pot of ink. She rolled up her letter and handed it to he griffin waiting on the balcony of her office with clear instructions to deliver it to her siblings.

She followed the griffin as he took off into flight, powerful fiery red wings propelling him across the horizon and over the forest. As she stood on the balcony, both hands on the wall, on lookers could see the evident change from when she had entered Narnia for the second time three months ago, as a twelve year old.

She had an air of grace and importance about her, in her posture and the clothes on her back. Her dress trailed on the floor, with long sleeves that concealed the backs of her hands and a neck line which brushed her collar bones, still maintaining a child like modesty. Ever since she had temporarily taken on the role that her older siblings had held in the running of the country, she had grown in the eyes of others. Her appearance now matched her mental age inside as she found herself gaining more respect from the Telmarine soldiers.

From her balcony, she looked down at the courtyard and almost recoiled in horror and fear. A tanned man with a bald head, simple clothing and a small and rotund stature stood in the stone square, squaring up to a guard in full armour. He stood on his toes, not quite as tall as the young telmarine guard who had started to back into the wall behind him. The strange man pointed a finger at the guard accusingly.

"Do I need to repeat it again?" he said, eyes burning into the guard. "I need to see the youngest Queen.".

* * *

Peter stayed ahead of the group, not wanting to interact with the rest of the group. Edmund had slowed to rejoin Susan and Caspian. Secretly, both were glad of his company. Despite obvious feelings towards each other, there was a tense atmosphere about them both. None of the three really spoke between each other. The arrival of the strange woman had shaken up the whole group.

"We will stop there for the night," Peter said, halting his horse and turning round in his saddle to face the rest. He nodded towards a small house nearby just off the road they were travelling on. It was by no means large, but it emitted a warm homely light from the windows and slightly open door. The noise of joyous celebration and merriment was emitted over the otherwise empty land.

It was quite obviously a place for the weary travellers like themselves. Numerous horses and carriages were tied outside of the door, grazing on what little grass they would find in the worn out and well used area of land.

Peter, Susan, Edmund and Caspian entered the cavern, an almost instant relief overwhelming them as the smell of alcohol and the comforting warmth hit them. Peter approached the bar, pulling his soaked grey hood off of his head.

"Do you have any rooms for this night?" He asked the man, with wrinkled skin who stood behind the bar. "We do not need vast amounts of space, and I'm willing to pay a great sum,". The man beckoned Peter on with a long bony finger, heading in the direction of a set of dark wooden stairs. Peter, followed by Susan, Edmund and Caspian, headed up the stairs.

"I can spare these rooms for one night," the man said as he handed Peter two ornate keys. "No longer than that." He warned.

Peter thanked the man as he left. "Su, you take this one," Peter barged open the stiff door to the smaller of the rooms, but the one which was home to a rickety metal bed with a straw mattress, stained with several suspicious looking stains. "We'll take the other,".

Peter left, entering the larger of the two rooms.

"We should all rest our heads," Edmund spoke up, addressing Susan and Caspian. Caspian agreed, following Edmund into the room and locking the door behind him.

Instead of retiring to her own room, she hurried down the stairs she had just climbed and back into the hustle of the main room of the cavern. She pulled Caspian's cloak over herself, covering any exposed flesh from the leering drunken men that mindlessly whiled their night away with the alcohol.

Grateful for the coverage of the thick wool cloak, Susan approached the back of the carriage carrying the supplies.

The woman was awake, sitting huddled against some boxes with Susan's cloak over her knees. The hay was not slept on, she was still in the place she had been when Susan left her.

"Come with me, " Susan said, making the woman jump and turn around to face Susan. "My brother has found us rooms for the night,".

"I can't, " the woman looked reluctantly over Susan's shoulders at the cavern. Her eyes, wide and unblinking, were only focused on the cavern.

"No, no, you must," Susan said. As soon as the words had left her mouth, she heard her mother in herself. Her tone, demanding yet gentle. Her instinct of care. Susan took a firm hold on the woman's arm, pulling her up to her full height and leading her out of the carriage.

"I must thank you," The woman said, looking over at Susan under the heavy hood she wore. "You've unquestioningly taken me under your wing. To think, you don't even know a thing about me. Ayelet, my name is Ayelet,".

"It is honestly no trouble," Susan said as they entered the cavern once again. She lowered her voice drastically, not wanting to be overheard in this unfamiliar territory. "My brothers may seem hostile, but tensions are high in our group. I beg of you to forgive them of their behaviour. And I am Susan."


	5. Chapter 5

Susan winced as she awoke, the bright sunlight of the new day invading the room. She sat up, squeezing her eyes shut, and stretched her muscles, aching from the recent full days of riding. Turning her head, and shielding her eyes from the morning sunlight, she looked out into the courtyard. Caspian stood in heated debate with a trader, carefully eyeing the hefty drawstring bag of gold in Caspian's clasped hands. A deal seemed to be made, as Caspian empted the contents of the bag into the traders out stretched hand and in return was led to the stable of a horse, slightly greying around the muzzle but otherwise in reasonable health.

She stood from the mattress, only now noticing that the room was empty other than herself. Ayelet must have left already. As she hurried down the stairs, she was surprised at the amount of activity for so early in the day. The room which they had first entered last night was crowded, forcing her to squeeze through the gaps in the groups of men, some already intoxicated.

Only when she stood on her toes could she see Peter and Edmund sitting in a corner, both nursing taverns of beer. They held their heads close together in an attempt to conceal their conversation from curious ears. Only on closer examination did she notice Ayelet sitting between them, bolt upright as if someone had wedged a wooden rod down her spine. Her eyes darted around the room rapidly, wide and unblinking. Her eyes rested on Susan for a second, but before Susan could do anything she looked down to her hands clasped in her lap.

Looking down at her own hands held in front of her, she ducked past a large group of wealthy men, obviously wasting their riches on the alcohol. She closed the door after her as she walked outside into the courtyard, thankful that she had brought her cloak as the brisk morning air hit her skin. She hurried over to Caspian, where he had tied the newly acquired horse and was looking it over. He ran a hand down the horses back, then down a leg, feeling for the apparently well developed muscles. Only then did he notice Susan approaching.

"Good condition," he said, nodding towards the horse. "Especially for a senior. Thought we would need another one now,".

"I see," Susan said, standing next to him and crossing her arms around her waist. "What do you think..you know..of her?".

"I can't imagine you would be surprised if I said that I will not invest my trust in her,"

Susan looked up at him, humming in agreement. She looked up at him. Caspian knew she wasn't really interested in discussing Ayelet.

"I'm conflicted, regarding your brothers," Caspian said, not looking back at Susan. Instead he kept his eyes trained on a murky window, obviously in need of scrubbing, where all he could see was Peter's blond hair against the gloom.

Susan frowned, the skin between her eyebrows creasing together as she did so. "What do you mean?" She inquired, spinning on her heels to turn her whole body to face Caspian.

"I can't quite decide whether they despise me, or just mildly dislike me," he said, feigning upset.

Susan grinned to herself, hiding it as she looked down at her boots and let her hair fall to cover her face. "They will relax, soon enough," She reassured him. "But besides," Susan grabbed Caspian's wrist and looked back up at him, "It is not their place to disagree,". Susan smiled to herself as she turned around, heading back towards where she had previously noticed Peter, Edmund and Ayelet in the inn.

Susan slid into the seat next to Peter, allowing room for Caspian to sit next to her. The same map that they had been using since they left the castle was laid out on the the table in the middle of the group, the curled over corners being held down with empty wooden carved cups. Various small trinkets, an acorn and a elaborate compass included in the collection.

"You would benefit from taking this pathway," Ayelet almost whispered, a noticeable stutter inhibiting her voice. Her tanned arm reached across the table, pointing to a very faint line on the map with a ragged fingernail. "You will avoid this rough terrain," she gestured to one part of the map, "and the most difficult part would be this valley with the creek running along it, though on horse back you will pass it easily,"

"I see," Caspian said as he leant forwards across Susan and Peter to look more closely at the map.

"How to you know all of this?" Edmund said, his head whipping around to stare at Ayelet.

Ayelet looked at him, though focusing on the thin air above his head instead of making eye contact. "My father told me many tales as a young girl, that is all. Nothing special, I can reassure you."

* * *

Lucy clasped her hands in front of her stomach, as she descended the stone staircase that led into the courtyard. She wiped the sweat from her palms on the olive green fabric of her dress. She let her arms hand down at her sides before projecting her voice across the courtyard.

"Then you shall speak to me,".

The unknown man slightly backed away from the telmarine guard but didn't quite let him out of control. He looked her up and down, critiquing her honestly. Two guards, burly with prominent muscles underneath their white linen shirts, used their force to move him away from the previous guard, leading him away and into the middle of the courtyard and towards Lucy.

She led them into another room, much more simple than the one she had been in previously. It only consisted of a long wooden table, with a large wooden chair on one side, a velvet cushion with a gold embroidered edge and tassels against the back. Across form the table stood another chair, still comfortable but much plainer in comparison to the other chair.

She instructed the guard to sit in the second chair, while she walked around the table to settle in the other. As the man sat, still staring at the young queen intently. The two guards stood either side of the man, one at each shoulder, not uttering a word but burning into the man with their strong stares.

"And your objective is?" Lucy said, straight to the point. She didn't hesitate or linger.

"To say the least, we are unhappy with the leadership," he said, speaking slowly but loudly.

"And who are 'we', exactly?" Lucy questioned the man, turning her head on one side.

His knuckles turned white as he clenched the arms of his chair. He leaned forwards, rising slightly out of his seat. The guard to his right reached out to grasp his shoulder, but Lucy looked up at him and shook her head, a plea for him not to intervene.

The man shook his own head, but to object but as an attempt to rid himself of his aggressive mind set. "We," he continued "Are those who are unhappy with the way you, you and your siblings," he pointed at her accusingly with a shaking index finger. "How can you ignore all of this? We are suffering down there?" He shouted, almost hysterically when his eyes started to glaze over and he pointed out of the window into the village where the majority of the Telmarines lived.

Lucy rested her hands in her lap, making an attempt to keep her own wits about her."I can assure you, they are well on their way to finding the solution,"

"Well then, how do we know you are telling the truth?" He propped one elbow on the table between them, leaning forwards until Lucy could feel his hot breath hitting her face. The hairs on the back of her neck pricked up,"Why is it even taking so long? Are they in no hurry?".

"I hope you can understand, communication is difficult at this moment in time. Their main preoccupation is finding the tree. We shall be hearing from them in no time at all,".

Lucy could see that the man was still sceptical. "Our village is still in danger. We aren't oblivious, nor are we unintelligent,".

"That is why I am offering you, your family and any other residents who wish to join you, a place to reside until the problem is fixed. You shall be provided with everything that is necessary for you to live a comfortable life," Lucy addressed the man, standing up and walking over to the window. She gestured for the man to follow her.

He stood, but did not follow at first. "There must be a catch," he paused for a second, unsure of how to address Lucy. "Your majesty," he said, uncertainly.

Lucy didn't look away from the window. "No," she said, shaking her head. "We simply have many empty homes in the grounds, those once belonging to the residents who chose to take Aslan's offer of a new life. We would be most grateful to have you in the grounds."

"Then we shall accept your offer."

* * *

Edmund had been drinking for hours. He sat at the same table that he had first sat at that morning, the map now replaced with a sea of empty drinks cups. Edmund himself had sprawled his upper body over the table. His shirt, half off of his body, had ale slopped all down the front along with various other suspicious stains. Edmund's dark mop of hair was tousled, sticking up straight in places where is shouldn't.

As Caspian approached, Edmund turned his head to one side on the table, groaning at the noise of his heavy boots against the stone floor. Something orange and slightly sticky was smeared across his freckled cheek.

"What you doing here?" Edmund slurred, eyes drooping.

"I could ask you exactly the same question," Caspian said. He was attempting to conceal his amusement at Edmund's predicament, but the obvious smirk on his face as he spoke gave him away. The corners of Caspian's mouth twitched, and he spluttered, before raising a hand above his mouth to hide his chuckle.

Edmund sat up bolt upright, belching inwardly. He shook his head like a wet dog, then pointed straight at Caspian. "A fine question, mother,".

"I think it is quite time for your majesty to retire," Caspian said, moving forwards to lift Edmund from his seat with a strong hand underneath his armpit. He hesitated for a second, only now realizing how Edmund had addressed him. "Wait...what?" he stuttered, being halted in his tracks and simply stopping to stare at the drunken Edmund before him.

Edmund allowed himself to be pulled upwards, transferring his full body weight onto Caspian, causing him to stumble backwards before regaining his balance.

Edmund raised one hand, gingerly touching the tips of Caspian's chin length hair. "It's lovely," he said, almost in a dream like state. "Just like mother's,".

Caspian's eyes widened and his brows furrowed. "As you say," he agreed, as it seemed much simpler than arguing with Edmund at this point in time. He continued to lead his up the stairs, going slowly as he was quite certain that Edmund couldn't currently see anywhere past a foot from his face.

"You know," Edmund stated, quite matter of fact as he looked up at Caspian with what was presumably meant to be a sincere expression. "I really like, Su. With you I mean,".

Caspian led him towards the room they had been staying in the night before, lightly shoving him to sit on the make shift bed. He looked at him, one eyebrow and one corner of his mouth raised. "Thank you...I think?" he said, raising his tone slightly at the end. He didn't hear anything after that, so assumed that Edmund had collapsed back against the sprung mattress.

As he left the room, he narrowly avoided walking directly into Peter. Peter looked past Caspian, his eyes falling on Edmund, who had seemingly passed out on the bed. He looked back at Caspian.

"Please, don't ask."


	6. Chapter 6

There was a loud rapping at the door, startling Peter awake. Before he could even stand to open it, a bewildered man burst through the door. He almost tripped in his apparent urgency.

"A body has been found," he said, stammering on his words in the hurry to say them. "All five of you, need to leave,".

Peter looked back at Caspian who had now sat up himself, and was staring back with an equally bewildered expression on his own face.

Without letting them speak, the unknown man interjected once again. "Now, you need to go now," he said, his voice becoming even more hysterical. "That girl, you need to go for her sake,".

"What, Ayelet?" Peter asked. His voice had raised, suspicion evident in his voice. He stood up to his full height and confronted him, looking down on him from his height advantage.

"Please, please, you need to go,". He begged, and raised his hands, unclear whether this was a gesture of surrender or one of fear. He lowered his voice this time, walking further into the room and closing the door until there was only a small gap between the door and the frame. "Do not tell anyone that it was I who told you, but a body has been found,".

"A body...?". Caspian said, his whole demeanour changing. Peter turned around to look at him, and the word went silent. With a slam of the door, the man had left just as fast as he had appeared,

Peter practically leapt to life, pulling Edmund's sheets from his head. The cold air hit Edmund's skin, jolting him out of his semi-consciousness. He held his head, groaning as Peter threw the same shirt he had worn the day before at him.

"Why?" Edmund questioned. "How does this involve us?".

Peter turned to him once again, his face reddening and his body tense. "Look," he said, stern in his tone. "I don't know. All I know is that obviously something suspicious is happening. And if anything happens to any of you, Susan, you, Caspian, or god, even Ayelet, I will be the one kicking myself,".

"Why even Ayelet? We don't know her!" Edmund spat "How do we know this isn't all her fault, anyway?".

Peter kicked the wall out of frustration. "For Heavens sake, just do what I say," Peter shouted, his hair flopping forwards into his reddening face. He lowered his voice, although it was still loud enough that Caspian could hear. "You know what happened last time,".

Both brothers turned silent, a massive juxtaposition from only seconds before. Peter had hit Edmund's Achilles heel. Edmund looked down, his eyes closed and his breathing halted. He swallowed, the protruding lump in his throat moving dramatically as he swallowed his pride. He turned his back on the others, facing the corner of the room now.

Caspian's head emerged from the collar of his shirt as he pulled it over his torso. He refused to let his eyes leave Peter's, mouth hanging open in slight shock. As he stood, he slowly shook his head form side to side, before turning his back on Peter.

Susan strode into the room, not bothered by the decency of her brothers. "Did you hear?" she said, horror evident on her face. Peter simply nodded in response. She looked past Peter to see Caspian, leaning against a wall on one leg as he pulled his boots on.

"We're leaving the carriage," Peter said, knowing that Edmund wasn't listening and Caspian merely lacked concentration. Susan stood, leaning against the doorway with her arms folded around her waist. She held her travelling cloak folded over one arm, as it was not necessary in the inn. Inns were more often than not busy, crowded places with the close proximity of others serving as a source of warmth, even if it was the unpleasant kind. She looked down at her boots, letting her hair fall and conceal most of her facial features. Behind Susan, Ayelet stood in the corridor outside of the room, seeming staring into nothingness. Her eyes were wide and her knuckles white as she clenched her fists around the fabric of the dress she wore.

Edmund walked from the door way, marching purposefully. He forced Susan out of his way, pushing his shoulder against his own and causing her to stumble backwards. Edmund didn't halt to look back at the others, only carrying on the hallway and thundering down the narrow decrepit stairway.

Susan turned on the balls of her feet, leaving her with her back turned to Peter and Caspian. She however turned her head over her shoulder to address the two. "However much we disagree with Edmund's abruptness, we really do need to get going pretty sharp,". Without waiting for Peter and Caspian to respond, she walked away, heading down the same staircase that Edmund had just gone down. Ayelet unquestioningly followed her, also looking back at the other two but with an air of helplessness, as if it was her only choice to rely on Susan. On the outside, based on general assumptions, they looked so similar. Truth be said, they couldn't be any more different.

"Let's just get out of here," Caspian said, grabbing Peter by the upper arm practically dragging him in the same direction that the others had previously gone in. The followed the brief glimpse of Susan's blood red cloak as she pushed through the rowdy groups of men, followed by a tentative Ayelet.

They eventually reached the entrance to the inn, where Edmund was already mounted. Caspian couldn't help but suppress a snicker at Peter's eagerness to assist Ayelet as he hurried to her side, clutching to her waist and promptly hoisting her up to sit astride the horse that Caspian had brought the day before. In shock, she took a sharp intake of breath. Her face burned a deep scarlet red, as she looked down at her horse's mane in an attempt to conceal her blush.

Caspian looked over at Susan as she fastened her saddle, now replaced after the fire. He shook his head, mouth slightly agape in sheer amusement at the forwardness of Peter's actions. He held on to Susan's horse's bridle as she mounted, though his fingers barely gripped at all, only loosely threaded between the nose band and the horse's head.

She thanked him as she slipped her feet into the stirrups, watching as he swiftly mounted his own horse.

Peter once again took control of the group, much to the annoyance of Edmund who let out a dramatically drawn out breath. Peter ignored him, sharply pulling his horse around to head in the direction that Ayelet had told them of while in the inn. The others followed, moving their horses with some significant speed, while Edmund and Caspian brought up the rear.

* * *

Susan flipped the hood of her cloak up as she felt the first patter of rain on her cheek, sending a very small but still uncomfortable shiver down her spine. Before that one drop could receive any recognition, it was followed by another drop, and another. It didn't take long until everyone was aware of the now steady flow of rain fall. The other's joined Susan in pulling hoods over their heads, shielding their faces and sinisterly concealing their identities.

Suddenly a crash of thunder rolled out across the now stormy grey sky, startling several of the horses, their heads shooting upwards and ears pricking back. The rain was getting heavier by the minute, deep puddles which were easily comparable to lakes had started to form in the parts of the road where large chunks of stone were missing. Peter's horse, fur completely sodden with the rain water, attempted to stop, backing up against the others in fear of the loud noises. Peter kicked him forwards with almighty force until the horse reluctantly took the first tentative steps back forwards.

He turned to the rest of the group, having to shout to make himself heard over the noise. "We're going to have to keep moving until we get to some form of shelter,".

"Well what if we don't find any?" Susan questioned, raising one eyebrow as she rubbed a hand up and down her horse's neck, trying to stop the horse from swinging it's head manically.

"We will," Peter said. Before anyone else could say a word, he turned back around and kicked his horse on. He wasn't quite ignorant to gallop his already spooked horse, but he did push it on until it sped off in a active canter. The others had no choice but to follow. Not only did they need Peter, but it would be plain idiotic to leave the king on his own in this unfamiliar place. It wasn't particularly safe for anyone, no matter their power or social position.

After what had felt like hours of pushing themselves and their horses through the rain, they turned a corner in the long path they had been travelling down. In the distance, they saw the silhouette of what looked like a village or settlement.

"Get in there," Caspian blurted out, raising his voice to be heard by the rest of the group in front of him. "Quick," he added, with an essence of urgency and tension in his voice as he pushed his horse forwards.

Caspian managed to push himself through the gaps in the group's formation, leaving him to talk the lead to the right side of Peter. There wasn't time for Peter and Caspian to dispute over their dominance, it not being the primary concern of either of them.

They reached the village, now obviously abandoned as they travelled through it. No one stopped to properly observe, but it was obvious from the destruction of the buildings, and various possessions left strewn across the ground, that the village had been left in a hurry, perhaps in fear. Bur what of?

On closer observation, as they packed into what had once been large hut, but now with one wall completely obliterated along with part of the roof. It was cramped, especially taking into consideration the horses that they had not been able to leave outside, in fear of losing their only means of travel. The horses slightly protruded out of the gap, but for the most part they were safe.

Ayelet, who was near the far wall from the one that was missing, put a hand to the wall but only withdrew it with a sharp gasp. This noise drew the attention of Susan, who looked over at the section of wall she had just touched. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness which was now nightime, she was that the wall itself was charred, and completely black. Not just the black that you would see inside a fireplace after years of use, but properly burnt. As she managed to lean over, and closer inspect the damage, she saw the tell tale signs of a fire. She had seen very little of the fires that had destroyed the villages back in Telmar, but from what she had seen these were exactly the same.

"The fire..." she said, barely audible over the hammering rain outside. This was not meant to be directed at any of the others, merely a product of her own thoughts as she came to this realisation.

"What do you mean?" Caspian, who had halted his horse rather close to hers, said, being the only one except from Ayelet who heard Susan's exclamation. Ayelet sat, starting from one to the other, holding her hand close to her.

"The wall – it's so hot," she said, simply. Edmund and Peter now stared at the three, having overheard loud Caspian's questioning over the rapid pattering of the rain outside.

"The fire," Susan repeated, now seemingly more confident in her sudden realisation being correct. "It's that fire, that fire from the villages,".

There was silence, the only sounds being the ever continuing rain and the slight scuffing of the horses' hooves.

Edmund was the one to break it. "It's getting worse, isn't it? Soon, it will be _everywhere_,". He didn't need to specify what he meant, the others had already caught on to what was happening. It wasn't only the fire, but this obvious power behind it all. "We need to get over our differences," Edmund glanced up at Peter, but once again let his hair fall over his eyes as his jaw tensed. "We're not safe. Not one of us.".

**A/N: Guest reviewer: Thank you very much for your lovely review! I've been trying to develop the relationship quite slowly, and I have plans for how I am going to write it all (: I just do not think going that fast is in character for them. I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying my fic.**


	7. Chapter 7

After a couple of hours, the rain had subsided substantially, leaving them free to finally spread out and regain their own space. It hadn't stopped completely, it was still raining, but only spitting so it wasn't even noticeable against the many layers they had piled on before embarking on their quest The sky, which had been a charcoal grey the night before, was slowly brightening until a soft blue was starting to shine through.

They had sat in the burnt shack all night until the sun finally started to peak over the horizon, bringing the end of the storm with it. Everyone, including the horses, craved for rest after the tense last few hours. There seemed to be an eternal slump over the group as they walked through the rest of the village. The five of them were noticeably slumped in the saddle, and the horses no longer had a sense of determination in their stride.

The village was for sure abandoned, there had been no hint of life for the whole time they had been there. Unanimously, they had concluded that the majority of the villagers had fled, no one wanted to linger on the fact that there were undeniably some that had not escaped, and had suffered here. Only the odd bird had been there, not a talking Narnian bird in sight. Every one of them was depressingly simple. It was as if they had lost everything that was Narnia. No more magic, only suffering and pain. At first, they wondered why Aslan would allow such a thing. It was Ayelet that had reminded them of Aslan's mysterious ways.

"What's that?" Edmund said, lacking the normal energy in his voice as he nodded his head towards the road ahead of them. He had suddenly sat tall in his saddle, peering up and over he mist that had formed on the straight and wide road in front of them. There was no longer this predetermined hierarchy in the formation in which they rode, as they all rode side by side now. Susan squinted as she peered through the mist, trying in vain to find what Edmund had just found. Edmund looked across at her. "No. I meant up there,".

Both at once, almost with an unintentional comic effect, Peter and Caspian looked upwards, following Edmund's pointing finger. The haunting appearance of a tall stone tower was just emerging, only the first couple of feet of it were visible. Although it still emerged from the mist above all of the other buildings, it wasn't tall. It certainly wasn't grand either, fitting with the rest of the architecture in the village. The top of it was open, obviously not having been capable of protecting anyone from the rain. The unusual thatched roof had also been destroyed, but not burnt, so most likely the damage of the downpour.

As they got closer, it became evident that this was not an outstanding piece of building, having suffered severe damage from the rain. It must have been as some service for the community, perhaps for society. It was all open, simply pillar holding up a roof, and a precarious rope ladder leading up to the tower they had seen previously. Some of the wooden pillars which had been previously supporting the roof had splintered, or simply broken in half at the middle. In the main area, there had obviously been tables and chairs a ranged in the fashion that suggested a place for dining or socializing. They were all mismatched, and the ones which had been sculpted out of wood had been relativity left in their original place. Others had been blown over, or even blown as far as a hundred or so yards away from where they had been originally.

"We should stay here, at least until we can regain our energy," Susan said, as she rode her horse to the dilapidated building and took both feet out of the stirrups, dismounting. She held her horse's reins and looked back at the others. Peter, Edmund and Caspian exchanged cautious looks, portraying their mistrust of this building. Ayelet looked between the men and Susan, unsure of who to side with. Peter opened his mouth to speak, but Susan interrupted him before he could even start. "At least while we regenerate our energy. We all need to stop, just for a few hours until we can get going again.".

"Lets stop," Edmund said, dismounting his own horse and going to stand next to Susan. "I agree, we aren't going to get anywhere if we refuse to let ourselves recuperate,".

Silently, Ayelet precariously followed suit, not quite confident in her footing as her feet his the back, and she stumbled backwards as her centre of gravity was thrown off by the force.

Peter looked Edmund in the eye, nodding as he did so. "Yes, we should,". As he walked over, followed closely by Caspian, he turned to Edmund with a smirk on his face, a hint of playfulness evident. "It's probably only right that you get the first night watch then," He said, continuing to look at him as he tied his horse next to the others horses. Edmund laughed, but didn't protest as he pulled over an upturned chair to sit on while the others settled down to rest.

They gathered enough chairs for all of the group, along with one extra in the shelter of the building. Caspian put his boot through the extra chair, purposely breaking it into several planks which he intended to use as the beginnings of a short term fire.

"May I?" Ayelet said, turning to Peter and gesturing to the map he unconsciously held in one hand. He had been watching the beginnings of a small fire, how the air was distorted by the intense heat radiating from the fire. He snapped his head, dazed eyes suddenly focusing on Ayelet.

"Oh, yes," he stumbled over his road, tongue twisting in his mouth. "Yeah, yeah,". He held it out to her, practically thrusting it at her. Ayelet took the map without hesitating, smiling in thanks although she didn't look up at Peter, only looking at the map.

"Speaking terms again?" Susan said, under her breath, not to let Edmund overhear. She looked up at Peter, then glanced over to Edmund who sat alone, dutifully on watch. Although his eyes were focused on the horizon ahead of them, he hands stayed in his lap as he fiddled with the fastenings on his shirt. Peter followed her gaze, and without letting his eyes leave Edmund. He nodded, but didn't say anything.

Before Susan could say anything more, Caspian had finished with the humble fire. He sat in the chair on the opposite side of Peter.

Ayelet held up the map to show the rest, pointing to an individual location on the map. "This is where we are," she said, eternally beaming as she moved her finger only an inch or two down what looked like to be a simple road along the side of a cliff face, "And this is your main goal, I believe?".

Peter suddenly leant forwards in his chair, elbows on his knees, to enable himself to see the map more clearly. He shook his head, as if in disbelief, and then turned his head side to side to look at Caspian and Susan. "How long will that take us? A day, possibly two at the most."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A sense of dread rose from the pit of Lucy's stomach, soon completely over filling her, as she watched the countless villagers come into the throne room before her. It wasn't in any form of an orderly fashion, instead the masses scrambled over each other, each attempting to reach the front of the standing crowd with their desire to be heard.

Santino, as she had soon discovered was the name of the leader who she had previously met, stood by the door. It was as if he was supervising, as he leant against the frame with his arms crossed loosely in front of his waist. He watched each individual enter the hall, almost as if he was checking off them group from a mental list inside his head. He seemed to recognise each and every one of them, despite the massive number of them. There must have been at least two hundred of them, let alone the guards that had been placed in various places around the hall on Lucy's own request, some of them concealed from view and others in blatantly obvious places to act as a threat.

The divide between the residents of the castle and the villagers was obvious, purely in the way that they huddled in the throne room, their accusing eyes darting around the room, but finally resting on Lucy.

Lucy looked to either side of her, at the four other empty thrones. She knew, just as well as the villagers did, that she lacked power compared to this group. Although her posture, with her spine straight and her shoulders back, portrayed that of a figure of power, the villagers couldn't see the power within her, nor could they see the queen that she had been in Narnia's Golden Age. In their eyes, she was a young girl with the illusion that she could hold her reign of power over a country, foolish in her ambition to debate with this group made up of mostly grown men, older than her in all of the lives she had lived added together.

As the last of the villagers joined the massive crowd, and the heavy doors that kept all of them within the throne room closed with a loud slam, Lucy stood. She bit the inside of her cheek as she did so, and turned to face the sea of sneering faces that stood before her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Caspian didn't turn his head at the snap of a twig behind him as he sat on guard, having volunteered to take over Edmund's role to allow the younger king to rest himself before they embarked on their journey once again. He didn't need to question who it was approaching him from behind.

Susan stood next to Caspian's chair, not bothering to draw up a chair of her own. She rested her hand on the arm of the chair, only centimetres away from Caspian.

"You are not tired from the journey, your highness?" He said. Neither looked at the other, continuing to gaze over the nothingness of the landscape, only the odd crumbling shack interrupting the view.

"I'm well rested," Susan reassured him. "I couldn't stay still for much longer,".

Caspian took his eyes of the view, looking up at Susan. She hadn't noticed this change, and was still focused on the unique soft lilac and orange of a Narnian sunrise. It was the only part of Narnia that had followed them everywhere on their quest, signifying them of everyday there were closer to their goal, and therefore closer to home.

He looked back down again, turning his face away of being caught in his fascinated state. Despite the obvious appeal, he couldn't bring himself to focus on the beginning of a new day which was occurring before them both. She started intently down at it, but Caspian's eyes were restless.

He turned to their hands, both close together on the arm of his chair. Her own pale hand, with long delicate archer's fingers capable of nimbly finding their way around a bow, offered a stark contrast to his own tanned hand, showing the obvious tell tale signs of many battles fought. Hers reflected the strange colours of the rising sun, now holding a blue and purple tint.

Boldly, he reached out. He traced the outline of her knuckle, and then the line of each vain visible through her skin until they disappeared underneath her thick and heavy sleeve. She didn't protest to his actions, nor did she move her hand away.

She was the first one to break the silence, although she never reacted to his hand on her own. "It's very beautiful, isn't it?"

"No where near as beautiful as you.".

**A/N: I feel as if the very last part of this came out a little too cheesy, but I still really like it. It was heavily inspired by Can't Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley. **


	8. Chapter 8

In the last few hours, now that everyone was well-rested after staying in the village for a night, there had been little obstacles between them. It was almost reminiscent of the days of the Golden Age, in the sense that there was a immense feeling of peace between them as they all worked together.

Caspian felt as if something strange had occurred between himself and Susan at the sun rise, although it wasn't at all obvious. It was like a change between them, where a whole new level had been uncovered. This level was obviously there, but very rarely explored and left to it's own devices, as if to develop on its own. Neither saw a point in attempting to control their own fates. What would be would be.

Although it was not obvious, it wasn't completely hidden either. Peter, Edmund and Ayelet had started to pick up on this ever growing build up of emotion between the two, which prior to stopping at the village had been brought to a halt by the tension that the quest brought along with it.

It had all started with a conversation between Peter and Susan, as they had managed to make an entrance into the tower through the ladder leading upwards. The tower provided them with a entire view of the surrounding landscapes, therefore an ideal advantage point for them in regards to keeping a suspecting eye on what may be approaching them.

"Perhaps we should send a lookout up here," Peter was leaning against the low railings, his back turned to Susan who instead stood right in the middle of the small landing of the tower. She was left staring at the back of his head as he chose not to turn to meet her eyes. "The height would be a sure advantage,"

"I don't think we should stay here much longer," Susan said, moving slightly forwards but stopping once she heard the floor creaking beneath her. She kept her distance from the railings, as she tentatively looked over the instability of it. It didn't look particularly well built.

"Don't you?" Peter said. He knew this would frustrate her as he questioned her gut feeling, and that was the only reason why he did so. He turned to face her briefly, just long enough for her to see the smirk on his face before he turned back around the look out over the horizon.

Susan didn't respond. All of them were too tired to argue, even if it wasn't to be taken seriously. After a couple of minutes of silence, only interrupted by the amusing debate between Caspian and Edmund down below about some juvenile topic, Peter turned to face Susan. "About Caspian..."

Susan put her hand up as an instinctive response. "Nothing - "

Before she could continue, Peter interrupted. "I'm not an enemy here," He took a deep intake of breath, as if stopping to gather his thoughts on how to respond next. He was attempting to tread carefully. "You know I worry for you?".

"I'm no longer a child Peter," Susan said, defensively, however she was careful to remain calm in her tone of voice.

Peter let his eyes meet hers for one second before looking down again, shaking his head. "You don't think I realise that?" At first, Susan feared that he had been angered, but when she saw the desperation portrayed by his facial expressions her whole demeanour softened and relaxed. "Do you remember what mum told me? When we left for school, the last time we saw her?"

Susan was silent, but as Peter watched he could practically hear the cogs of her memory working, turning in her brain.

Peter cut directly to the chase, although his eyes were burning as he did so. He blinked fast, which succeeded in turning the burning to a subtle itch. He couldn't help himself from taking a long stride forwards, until he stood right in front of Susan, towering over her. He reached out, holding her arm around her elbow. Although, he loosened his grip once he realised the strength of his hand. "She told me to watch out for all three of you," his voice shook slightly as he spoke. "I need to keep my promise,"

Both of them knew what Peter was preventing himself from saying. The chances were slim, if not non-existent, that they would see either of their parents again. They could hold on to all the hope in the world, but the odds were against them.

"I know..." She said, her voice trailing off as she looked around, seemingly searching for something in the distance.

"It's not that I'm against Caspian, we have much more significant enemies at the minute. You have to remember, I'll always be your brother."

* * *

Lucy felt an unsuitable, almost shameful, level of grandeur as her carriage moved at rapid speed throughout the housing that had been provided for the Telmarine rebels. It was most defiantly a beautiful carriage, with a deep burgundy velvet interior and gold trimmings, fitting with the traditional Narnian colours, and an equally eye catching exterior. This luxury did not seem fitting for the village, and she would have much rather simply rode her horse. She had voiced this desire to the guards accompanying her, but this had been met with a complete refusal. They had argued that her horse would not offer her enough protection from the villagers. She considered this highly unnecessary, but had reluctantly boarded the carriage.

Affairs had taken a turn for the better, or were at least starting to. The streets were lined with people, all with the same distinctive tanned skin, dark hair and dark eyes that reminded her so much of Caspian's own appearance. The lines on either side of the road were mostly made up of women, young and old, and children.. They children in particular reached out to Lucy in a sentimental fashion, toothless grins with bright eyes. They were oblivious to the horrors that were currently being faced in the world surrounding them, and Lucy hoped they would forever stay that innocent.

Lucy stood, holding on to a seat as the carriage jolted going over a bump in the road. She made her way to the small misted over window at the front of the carriage which connected to where the driver sat, and unlatched it. It had obviously not been opened in some time, indicated by the loud groan that was let out as it opened, along with the sound of rough wood scraping against more wood. A sudden rush of cold air hit her face as she did so, but this didn't bother her as along with it there was also an essence of fresh air filling the carriage.

Lucy knocked on the window frame, causing the carriage driver to jump slightly in surprise. Once he turned his shoulders and saw Lucy at the window, slowed the horses from their lively trot to a halt.

"You're majesty, is everything well?" He said with all formalities in place.

"Yes, yes. All is fine," She reassured him. "I just wish to stretch my legs,"

His eyes widened, as he faced the inner conflict between his duties, to guard queen's safety with his life and to fulfil her every wish. She looked up at him with equally wide, unblinking eyes, a trick she had learned from experience with Peter.

"As you wish, your majesty. Although, you must be cautious and aware of the risks in this part of town,".

"Of course," She dismissed him, batting her hand in front of her face as she hurried to the door, not even letting the driver assist her in climbing for the carriage. The young man who had been sitting beside the driver, whom she recognised as a guard from the castle, hurried towards her and stood at her side. Lucy furrowed her brow, and turned back to the driver in confusion. He had climbed down from his seat and was tending to the horses.

"Didn't think I was letting you go alone?" He looked at her, his face honest as he shrugged.

She didn't let this bother her, however, as at least she was being allowed to stroll throughout the village on foot and leave behind the most obtrusive status symbol in which she had travelled from the castle in there. It was unbelievably stuffy inside, and awfully restricting.

Her eyes seemed to light up as she walked down the streets. Lucy rushed to look into the shop windows, marvelling at all of the handmade wood and leather work. They were the results of hard work, hours and hours of leaning over a well cherished craft bench to produce a unique piece. She wanted to go into the shops and explore, but there was no time for that today.

Instead she carried on walking along the dirt street, becoming oblivious to the young man who had been given the task of protecting her. He knew this wasn't necessary after hearing stories from the Golden Age, so had started to trail slightly behind.

A hand, female and tanned, reached out and grasped for her own. The young man lunged forwards, hand on the hilt of his sword in anticipation. Lucy looked up only to see a young exotic looking woman, most likely a couple of years older than Susan, looking straight into her eyes, a grateful smile spread across her face. Lucy waved the young man away, knowing that this woman was no threat to her.

"Thank you," She said, starting to lower herself down to her knees before Lucy. However, before she could hit the ground Lucy tightened her grip on her arm, pulling her back up. As she looked at her once more, she saw a disturbing desperation behind her eyes.

* * *

Ayelet was not herself, quite obvious to Edmund as she leaned closer and closer to his face. He could feel her breath, hot and heavy, washing over him as his whole body tensed up. He worried that his discomfort was obvious, glancing around the room only to find that none of the others were watching the interaction between himself and Ayelet.

Edmund placed a hand on her shoulder, gently pushing her away to a more appropriate distance. She didn't even seem to notice, clearly intoxicated from the little alcohol they had brought with the. He could smell it on her breath, not quite sure how she had gotten her hands on it because Peter had been keeping a close eye over it, in the saddle bag which he constantly kept at his side.

"Come on," she said, almost whining like a small impatient child. She leant forwards once more, her hair falling forwards in front of her eyes. She didn't bother to move it back, only growing closer and closer towards Edmund, closing her eyes as she did so. "No one will care,"

He opened his mouth to protest, but before he could let any sound come from his mouth she slammed her own into his. He suddenly clamped his mouth closed, and put his hands on her shoulders,but this time with deliberate force. She attempted to deepen the kiss, all while pushing back against him with surprising strength.

With another push, he managed to get some space between the two of them, and as she attempted to make her way back over to him he hand raised instinctively, without any contribution from his brain, and came down with force upon her cheek. Ayelet herself stopped almost immediately, as if she had just come to her senses, and her eyes met Edmund's with a level of shock equal to his own.

Much to Edmund's further surprise, she stood and slowly started to back away from him, not allowing herself to turn away from Edmund until she was well out of the shelter they had been staying in. She mounted her horse, still staring as she mounted her horse.

Edmund couldn't look any more, as he stood and walked over to where Susan and Caspian sat. They hadn't seen anything, at least that's what it looked like.

Peter, who had been sitting on guard, approached Ayelet, concern evident in his eyes. Edmund didn't pick up any of their conversation, but it was clear Peter was trying to convince her not to leave as he kept a tight hold on her horse's bridle.

"I just need some time to think," she said, a slight slur to her voice.

Peter, still watching her suspiciously, reluctantly let go of the bridle. Before anyone had chance to do anything, she was off.

**A/N: Thank you so much for all of your reviews, follows and favourites! I'm sorry this was a little later than usual, but school has been very busy recently. I'm hoping everyone is enjoying the winter season!**


	9. Chapter 9

Panic was evident in his face as he ran down the corridor, oblivious to the guards attempting to stop him in his tracks. He struggled, viciously as if he was a wild animal, against the grip of the guards before breaking himself free, almost falling forwards in his hurry.

Lucy had opened the door of her chambers, startled by all of the shouting from both parties in the corridor. She wasn't fearful of what was happening, and all of the commotion that was going on. Her gut instinct told her that there was no violence within this man, only desperation.

Upon seeing Lucy, the man fixed his stare upon Lucy and ran forwards, scrambling as he tripped over his own feet and his robes. He finally dropped to his knees in Lucy's doorway, still not breaking the eye contact between them. She vaguely recognised him, as one of Telmarine noblemen who had taken kindly to the new Narnian monarchy.

"Please..." He said, in a mere whisper, begging on his knees. Out of the corner of her eye, Lucy saw his wife, a young woman who was often plagued with illness and bed-ridden. She stood, holding her self up on the wall, still wearing her nightgown. Tears ran down her face, Lucy couldn't watch any more. "Our daughter...missing,"

Lucy had seen their daughter, a young girl of three years. She had regularly brought flowers to the Queens as they walked into the gardens, not shy in the slightest as the played in the grounds, talking to anyone she found. Was this why she was missing? Lucy didn't like to think of it.

She didn't want to cry, although it was all she felt she could do. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "I promise you, with everything I have, that I will find your daughter," She said, looking to the man and then turning her self to his wife.

"Thank you," the wife whispered, barely audible.

Lucy smiled at them both, although it felt unsuitable to do so in such a situation. Lucy nodded, for herself more than anything and walked out of the doorway, locking it as she left.

"If you will excuse me," She said, staring at the stone floor. She walked in a brisk fashion, knowing her goal and not wanting to do anything. Her long skirts swept across the floor behind her, billowing throughout the several layers of fabric.

She stopped upon seeing one of the more influential members of court, knowing she could trust him with her request. "I need you to gather all of the men in the court room as soon as possible, as a urgent matter must be discussed," She didn't even give him to dispute her order, as before he had processed what she said, she had continued on her determined journey. Much to Lucy's relief, she heard him scurry off in the opposite direction.

It took her a good ten minutes to get to the throne room, although she hadn't been concerned about the time, only her destination. Lucy flung open the doors dramatically, although she was the only one in the area for several hundred yards of the castle.

The room was certainly beautiful, no one could dispute that. Recently, Lucy had found herself getting horribly distracted, examining the way the light hit the intricate patterns of the floor, from the one window, completely covering the wall opposite the door. She was fascinated by the way it lit the colours of the leaves in the pictures, seeming to turn them into different colours depending on the lighting and the time of day. Most of all, she loved the lion with hundreds of shades of gold within each individual strand of his mane.

She made her way up the room, which was long and narrow. Chairs lined the two long walls of the room, with five newly carved thrones for each King and Queen standing at the edge, each individually carved and full of personality, reflecting it's owner.

She sat on her own in her throne, a feeling that had been strange to begin with as she had looked across at the four empty thrones to her right. However, as she had completed more and more gatherings on her own, or with the occasional input from an old Narnian friend. She no longer had to hid her shaking hands, or stop her voice from wavering as she attempted to speak to the large group of men, in a desirable loud and confident voice.

Not long after she had sat and settled, the men had started to file into the room, some entering in groups, discussing between each-other the reasoning behind the impromptu gathering of men, while others entered individually, able to sense that something was amiss to cause Lucy to call a meeting with so little notice.

Once all of the men had taken their seats, although this had not been a short procedure, Lucy clapped her hands together to produce one short and sharp sound. The various conversations trundled to a halt, and gradually all heads turned towards Lucy.

"Thank you for attending on such short notice," Lucy said, standing and walking so she was in the centre of the row of thrones, in full view of everyone in the room. She clasped her hands in front of her chest, and took a sharp intake of breath. "A child as been reported missing from within the castle, and we have reason to believe they have been taken under the cover of night,"

"If I may add, my majesty," A young centaur, recently given the role of managing the castles finances due to his excessive experience of dealing while in finding, stepped forwards from the corner in which he had stood and spoke. "Large amounts of currency have been taken from the castle, with obvious signs of forced entry on the window catch in one of the ground floor hallways. Forgive me for my hasty generalization my Queen, but I do believe these two events may be intertwined."

* * *

Before they had arrived in the village, it had been uncommon for Susan and Caspian to find themselves alone, but in recent times they had found themselves spending more and more time innocently enjoying each others company. It wasn't as if this had been a conscious decision on anybodies part, but it only ever happened by chance and an aspect of luck.

This often occurred when one or the other had been given a watch duty, now taking part in the tower that Peter and Susan had previously discovered. Not only was this a brilliant advantage spot to ensure the safety of the group, but it was almost completely secluded from everyone else.

That afternoon, Susan had heard the heavy clomping of boots making their way up the ladder. She knew no harm could be brought to her by the owner of the boots, and also had a sneaking suspicion as to who that was.

This suspicion of Susan's was confirmed as a head of slightly dishevelled shoulder length brown hair appeared, and Caspian used his toned arms to pull himself up off the ladder and into the confined space of the watch tower.

Caspian stayed on his knees, making his way over to where Susan sat as she peered through a small gap in the railings. She was aware of his presence, even more so when he squeezed into the space next to her, but she did not turn her head to meet his eyes. Susan could feel his hip and thigh pressing up against her own, his arm brushing against hers, as he sat with his legs outstretched in front of him and his ankles crossed.

"Have you seen Ayelet?" Susan said, quietly as she rested her cheek against the rough wood.

Caspian shook his head, before realising that she wasn't actually watching. "No, Peter said she left,"

She sighed, bringing her knees up to her chest and holding them there. She wrapped her cloak closer around her to combat the chill that whistled around them, coming in through the open top portion of the tower. "I asked him, and he said she would be back,"

She turned around for a second, but only saw Caspian looking back at her, a blank stare as if he was waiting for her to continue.

"I'm worried, Caspian," She said, and bit her lower cheek slightly. "She's vulnerable,"

"Su," Caspian said, using the shortened name which he seemed to have picked up from Peter. It sounded foreign coming from his tongue, in his own Mediterranean style accent. "She has enough experience of the world to manage by herself. She can cope without being parented,"

Susan pursed her lips together, looking up at the sky and then turning towards the pathway that led out of the abandoned village, marked by an ornate gate than had been left open, one side of it half torn off of the hinges and hanging precariously. Peter had told her that he had seen Ayelet depart through this gate, and hadn't seen her since. "I know," Susan paused for a second, seeming to examine Caspian's hands. "It's just-"

He silenced her by placing his index finger upon her lips, only taking it away to leave a slight tingling sensation where his touch had landed. Susan felt the intensity of his stare as he spoke earnestly towards her. "You can't care for everyone, it isn't humanly possible. As much as you want to,"

Neither of them spoke, the only noise being the muffled voices of Peter and Edmund downstairs, and the odd song of a bird. Wildlife was starting to venture back into the village after fleeing from the destruction of the fire. It made it into less of a haunting ghost town, now that the four of them were not the only living beings for miles and miles of land.

"I hope we can return soon," Susan tentatively tried to break the silence between them. "To Narnia, I mean," she added.

Caspian had not needed the confirmation, for he also felt the same. At first, the quest had been bearable and a new adventure of discovery. However, as they had progressed everyone involved seemed to have lost fate, following several incidents of extreme bad luck. For Caspian, there goal had become more and more distant and unreachable.

"We will, soon," Caspian said, his voice wavering as if he was just as uncertain as Susan was. He put a hand up to shield his eyes from the sun, and squinted in order to see further into the barren horizon. Just visible when he did so, he saw a slight bulge in the otherwise flat ground, which seemed to be a series of rocks, with a valley just visible. "That, just over there," Caspian leaned over Susan slightly and pointed to what he saw, and Susan followed his gesture. "We just need to get through that, which we will not find difficult on horse back, and the tree should be close behind,"

Susan seemed to understand, although it did not stop her curiosity from getting the better of her. She paused for a second, her head tilted slightly as if she was debating over how to word her query. "What happened to Tyne?" She said, leaning back against the railing behind her back and fixing her gaze on Caspian.

Caspian raised one eyebrow, leaning in closer towards Susan without thinking. "What...?" He said, more quietly than before. "What do you mean?"

"If the journey was as simple as this, then why has he never been found?" Susan said, and then feeling the need to explain herself further. "Why not send someone to find him?"

Caspian stopped, thinking for a second, before simply shrugging. "I suppose we will never know what he faced. Maybe there was something stopping him that we haven't found," Caspian thought he had finished speaking, but upon looking over to Susan he noticed her hesitant expression. "And that we will never find." He rested his hand upon her own hand, which now rested on her knee.

**A/N: Thank you for the lovely reviews, favourites and follows! Each one makes me so happy to see. We've also hit 1,500 views for all of December, which I find pretty amazing, so thank you to every single person reading. **


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